Tandem power press



. June 18, ,J' p. S|NG|SER I TANDEM POWER PRESS `Filed Aug. 13, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet l June A18, 1.935. 5|NG15ER 2,005,171

TANDEM POWER PRESS Filed Aug.' 13, 195o 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 RA' I' June1.8, 1935. 1 p, 5|NG|5ER I 2,005,171

TANDEM POWER PRESS Filed-Aug. 13, 195o 5 sheets-sheet 4 m x C Ms: M m SiN Elgin/@1% June 18, 1935.

J. P. siNGvlsl-:R v

TANDEM POWER PRESS Filed Aug." 15, 19430 n 5 Sheel's-Sheet 5 rl lllllll1| Patented `lune i8, i935 TES narran l TANDEM POWER PRESS .lohn P.Singiser, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The American Laundry MachineryCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August i3,

6 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for pressing fabrics and pertains,particularly, to a control mechanism for operating a series of suchmachines that are operatively interconnected together either in a tandemor by group arrangement. Such machines embody pressing members adaptedto bemoved into or out of engagement with each other, and one or both ofthe pressing members may be movable, although it is customary to havethe lowerrnost pressing y member stationary and the uppermost pressingmember movable into or out of engagement therewith.

The control of the machine is preferably of the two hand type andconsists of push buttons and levers, or handles; the use of which hasbeen more fully described in my prior Patent No. 1,851,990, grantedApril 5, 1932. In such construction either the push buttons or leverscan be actuated to apply power actuating means for bringing the pressingvmembers into engagement.

In accordance with my invention, the control arrangement for operatingsuch machines in tandem or group embodies an auxiliary inlet valvelocated in close proximity to one of the operating levers or handles andan auxiliary cylinder and piston which is also located in closeproximity to the other operating lever or handle of the machine. Thedepression of one of the control levers will open the auxiliary inletvalve and n cause air to flow to the auxiliary cylinder that `\i`sadjacent one of the operating levers on another machine in the` seriesto operate the auxiliaiy piston located in such cylinder. 'Ihe actuationof this auxiliary piston releases the control valves to cause automaticopening of the latter machine. However, the auxiliary inlet valve andthe auxiliary piston are not affected by movement of the push buttoncontrols, and, therefore, such controls are used when the machines areto be operated separately and independently.

'One object of my invention is to provide a control mechanism for aseries of machines operatively interconnected and disposed in tandem orgroup arrangement whereby the pressing members of one of the machinescan be moved away from each other andthe pressing members of anothermachine can be moved into engagement with each other simultaneously.

Another object of my invention is to provide control mechanism for aseries of pressing machines operatively interconnected in a group ortandem arrangement ywhereby any one of the 1930, Serial No. 474,890

machines thatare operatively interconnected therewith.

A vfurther object of my invention is to provide a control mechanism ofsuch nature that two or more machines operatively interconnectedtogether canbe manipulated simultaneously by a single operator.

Other objects of my invention will be seen in the following descriptionand one embodiment thereof may be seen in the accompanying drawingswherein similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts,and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view showing two pressing ma-l chines interconnected inaccordance with the idea disclosed by my invention, one of said pressingmachines having its pressing members in separated relation and the othermachine havingr its pressing members in engagement with each other.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of the pressing machines.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view t the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional diagrammatic view showing the arrangement andconstruction of the control mechanism for two pressing machines that areoperatively interconnected together.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the operating mechanism for theauxiliary inlet valve.

Fig. 6 is a. view similar to Fig. 5 but the operating mechanism for theauxiliary piston.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic View showing the arrangement of iiuidconnections for operating aken in the plane of showing pressing machineswhen three machines are member I having an upwardly extending portion 2which carries a pivot pin 3 for a head lever or pressure arm 4. Apedestal 5 on the frame I carries a lower pressing member 6 and thepressure arm or head lever` 4 carries an upper pressing member 1.Springs 8 are connected at their upper ends by means of a swivel blockarrangement 9 to one end of the pressure arm or head lever 4. The lowerend of such springs are connected as at I0 to the machine frame. Suchsprings tend to move the pressure arm or head lever 4 in a clockwisedirection thereby moving the pressing member 1 upwardly and away fromthe pressing member 6. The springs further tend to maintain the-pressing members 6 and 1 in separated relation, the distance ofseparation being such as to permit convenient access to the lower'pressing member 6 for the arrangement of the material to be pressedthereon.

Means for moving the upper pressing member 1 into engagement with thelower pressing member 6 consists of a uid pressure operated mechanismadapted to move the head lever or pressure arm 4 through the medium of atoggle mechanism comprising an upper link member II having its one endpivotally connected to the pressure arm or head lever 4 and a lowermember I2 having one end thereof pivotally mounted on the frame I as atI0, the free ends of the members I I and I2 being pivotally connectedtogether as at I3.

Connected by a pin I4 to the lower member I2 just below the connectionI3 between the upper and lower members II and I2, is the rear end of apiston rod I5 that forms a part of a piston I6 adapted to reciprocate ina cylinder I1. As shown, the cylinder I1 is horizontally disposed and ismounted for oscillation on pins I8 having one of their ends supported inthe frame I. The purpose of connecting the piston rod I5 to the toggleII, I2 just below the connection between the free ends voi the linksthereof is to permit an increased separation between the pressingmembers 6 and 1 by a shorter throw of the piston and piston rod.

Either steam or air may be used for moving the piston I6 in onedirection in the cylinder I1 to effect closing movement of the pressingmembers 6 and 1. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the means for supplying suchiiuid -to the cylinder I5 embodies a pipe I9 which may lead from asuitable source of supply (not shown) to the supply side of a casing 20which contains a valve 2I controlling the iiow of iiuid through thecasing and normally held against its seat to prevent such ilow of uid bya spring 22 bearing against the vupper surface of the valve. A exibletube or conduit 23 is connected at one end to the discharge side of thevalve casing 20 and at its other end to the cylinder I1.

Movement of the lpressing members 6 and 1 into `engagement is caused bymovement of the piston I6 in one direction. However, such pressingmembers are separated and the piston I6 moved in the opposing directionin the cylinder I1 by the springs previously described. Therefore, topermit separation of the pressing members 6 and 1 it is necessary thatmeans be provided for permitting the exhaust oi' the fluid pressurebetween the larger surface of the piston I6 and the correspondingsurface of the cylinder I1. To accomplish this, a flexible conduit 24leads from the iiexible conduit 23 to one side of a casing 25 containinga valve 26 which normally prevents the escape of fluid to the atmospherethrough the conduit 21 and the'exhaust muiller 28, being nora mally heldagainst its seat by a spring 29. Upon the movement of the valve 26 awayfrom its seat against the pressure of the spring 29, the fluid pressurebetween the larger surface of the piston I6 and the correspondingsurface of the cylinder I1 may escape through the conduit 24, casing 25,

' and exhaust conduit 21 to the atmosphere, whereby the piston I6 may bemoved rearwardly by the springs 8. When the valve 26 is in openposition, fluid pressure ilowing through the conduit 23 will also escapeto the atmosphere to such an extent as to not be effective to move thepistn I6 within the cylinder.

In order to safeguard the operator of the press against having his handscaught between the pressing members when such pressing members move intoengagement with each other, the control mechanism provided requires theuse of both of the operators hands to eiect closing of the press. Theuse of one hand is needed for the operation of the valve 2I to permitilow of iluid to the cylinder I1 and use of the other hand is needed forthe operation of the valve 26 to prevent escape of theiluid to theatmosphere. Such use of both hands is required until the pressingmembers 6 and 1 have been brought into substantial engagement with eachvother. A means for maintaining the valves 2l and 26 in their operativepositions for a given length of time is provided so that the hands ofthe operator may be free immediately upon substantial engagement of thepressing members 6 and 1 while pressure continues to be exerted by oneof such members on the other.

The operating means for the valve 2I embodies a hand lever 36 pivotallymounted in a bracket 3I carried by a bracket 32 that forms supportingmeans for one side of a work supporting table 33. 'Ihis hand lever 30 isprovided with a downwardly extending arm 34 connected to a clevis member35 rigidly connected to the forward end of a rod 36. The rod 36 extendsthrough a bracket 31 and the outer end of the rod 36 is connected to abracket 38 carrying an arm 39 and a. member 40, the member 40 engagingthe extreme outer end of the valve stem 4I which has its inner end lyingwithin the casing 2U for engagement with the valve 2l. l

With this construction, depression of the hand lever 30 will causemovment of the rod 59 longitudinally towards the casing 2U through themedium of the clevis arrangement 36 hereinbefore described which willresult in movement of the valve stem 4I in the same direction andconsequent movement of the valve 2I away from its seat against thepressure of the spring 22. The inlet valve 2I is thereby opened and uidpressure for causing movement of the piston I6 in one direction andconsequent movement of the pressing members 6 and 1 into engagementagainst the resistance of the springs 8 through the medium of themechanism hereinbefore described is permitted to flow to the cylinderI1.

The operating means for the outlet or exhaust valve 26 is in two partsnormally out of operative relation. One of these parts embodies a handlever 42 pivoted upon the pin 43 mounted in a bracket'44, that forms asupporting means for the opposing side of the work supporting table 33and is provided with a downwardly extending arm 45 connected to a clevis46 which is, in turn, slidably connected with a rod 41. The other partof the operating means includes the rod 41 provided with a head 48. Therod 41 extends through. a table bracket 49 and is secured at its outerend to a bracket 50 carrying a member 5| adapted to engage the end of avalve stem '52 extending into the valve casing 25 and engaging the valve26. When the two parts of the operating means are in operative relationas a result of the operation of mechanism hereinafter described,depression of the hand lever 42 effects rearward movement of `the clevis46, rod 41, and bracket 50 through engagement with the head 46 whereuponthe member 5| will move away from the valve stem 52, the valve 26 beingmoved toward its seat by the "spring 29 which will cut off fluidpressure ow from between the larger surface of the piston I6 and thecorresponding surface of the cylinder |1 through the conduit 24, exhaustconduit 21, and the muffler 26 to the atmosphere and prevent the piston|6 from being moved forwardly in the cylinder I1 and the pressingmembers 6 and 1 from being separated by the action of the springs 6.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings it will be seen that the inlet valve2| normally remains closed by pressure of the spring 22 when thepressing members are in separated relation, vbut further means must beprovided for overcoming the closing effect of the exhaust valve spring29 in order to maintain the` valve in open position when the pressingmembers are separated. Sucl. means comprises a spring 53 surrounding therod 41 of the outlet valve operating means and having -its one endabutting the table bracket 49 and its opposing end abutting a collar 54that is rigidly mounted on the rod 41. This spring is vmade considerablystronger than the exhaust valve spring 29. Therefore, the rod 41 of theexhaust valve operating means will be normally maintained in itsrearwardmost position, with the result that the valve stem 52 is alsomaintained in its rearwardmost position and the valve 26 is held open byengagement of the stem with the valve. I

` In order to move the pressing members 6 and 1 into engagement, theoperator must actuate th inlet valve operating means with one hand toopen the inlet valve and exhaust valve operating means with the other topermit the exhaust valve to close. Such manual actuation of the valveoperating means is necessary until the pressing members are moved intosubstantial engagement whereupon a maintaining means hereinafterdescribed becomes effective to hold the inlet valve open and to permitthe exhaust valve to remain closed for the pressing operation on theoperating means being released.

, As hereinbefore mentioned, the outlet valve operating means is in twoparts normally out of operative relation and in such position thatoperation of one ofthe parts has no effect upon the other. For instance,the hand lever 42 may be depressed without causing movement of theoutlet or exhaust valve actuating rod 41 because oi the fact that theclevis 46 Awill merely slide upon the rod. A spring 55 is so arranged onthe rod 41 that one of its ends abuts the forward end of the clevis 46and its opposite end bears against a collar 56 disposed on the rod 41.This spring serves to return the hand lever 42 to its normal position. j

The means for putting the two parts of, the outlet valve operatingmeans, namely, the hand lever and clevis arrangement and the rod 41,into operative relation, comprises twor transversely extending rods 51and 58 connected at their inner or adjacent ends 'by a coupling 59. Therod 51 is journalled in the clevis 35 of the inlet valve operating meansand the rod 58 is journalled in the clevisy 46 of the outlet valveoperating means. A lever 6|) is rigidly connected at one of its ends tothe rod 51 and has an adjusting screw 6| on its opposing end and lyingbelow the hand lever of the inlet valve operating means in' suchposition as to bel moved downwardly by downward movement of the handlever. 'In a like manner, the rod 58 carries an arm 62 having one endthereof lying immediately below the rod 41 slightly in advance of thecollar 54 on such rod., It Will be noted that the arm 62 extends in anopposite direction from the lever 66 and that the rods 51 and 58 areadapted to be rotated by the downward or upward movement of the lever66.

With this construction, depression of the hand lever 36 of the inletvalve operating means will cause downward movement of the lever 60 androtation of the rods 51 and 58 (see Figs. 3 and 5) to cause upwardmovement of the outer end of the arm 62 whereby such outer end will bemoved into engagement Withthe rod 41 in advance of the collar 54 whichis rigidly mounted on the rod as hereinbefore described. Thus, the twoparts.

of the outlet valve operating mechanism will be moved into operativerelation and depression of the hand lever 42 will cause longitudinalmovement of the rod 41 and permit closing of the outlet or exhaust valve26 by the action of the spring 29. However, if the inlet valve operatingmeans is not actuated to elevate the one end of the rod 62, depressionof the hand lever 42 will cause no movement of the rod 41.

By requiring the operation of the inlet valve operating means priortothe effective 'operation of the outlet valve operating means, theoperator is compelled to use both hands to eiect closing of the press.Such construction has a further advantage in that a l-eaky inlet valvewill not permit closing of the press by the mere actuation of the outletvalve operating means.

The maintaining means for holding the inlet valve open and permittingthe outlet or exhaust valve to remain closed a short time after theoperators hands have been removed from the inlet and exhaust valveoperating handles 36 and 42 comprises a transversely extending rod 63 ofnoncircular form mounted in brackets 64 carried by the table supportingbrackets. A lever 65 is rigidly secured on one end of the rod 63 andprovided with a bifurcatedportion in which a rod 66 is adapted to rest.Such rod has a collar 61 on one of its ends and the opposing end of therod is rigidly secured in the bracket 38. `A similar lever 68 is rigidlysecured to the opposing end of the'rod 63 and has'a bifurcated portionin which one end of a rod 69 is adapted to rest, the opposing end ofthe-rod being rigidly secured in the bracket 50. Such lever is,likewise, provided with a. collar on one of its ends. The rod 63 issuitably supported in the table supporting brackets and a lever 10 isrigidly connected to the rod 63, such lever 10 having one of its endsconnected to the lower end of a rod 1|. As shown ifi Fig. 2, the freeend of the rod 1| is adapted to slide within a sleeve 13 which has itsupper end pivoted as at'14`on the head lever or pressure arm 4. Arrangedin the sleeve 13 between a head 15 provided on vthe rod and the lowerend of the sleeve is a coiled spring 16.

When the hand lever 30 is depressed to open the hand lever 3l! serves toput the two parts ofthe outlet valve operating means in operativerelation as hereinbefore described. Thus, depression of the hand lever42 effects rearward movement of the rod 69 and permits closing of theoutlet valve 26 whereby the pressing members 6 and 1 will be broughtinto operative relation. Since the sleeve 13 is pivotally connected toone end of the head le'ver or pressure arm 4 and such head lever orpressure arm moves in a counterclockwise direction in the closingmovement of the press, the sleeve will be elevated and the rod 1I movedupwardly by .engagement of the spring 16 with the head 15 of the rod.Such upward movement bf the rod 1I will rotate the rod 63counter-clockwise thereby moving the blfurcated h portion of the lever65 into engagement with. the

head 61 on the rod 66 thereby maintaining such rod in its positionasfshifted by the handle 30. Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, itwill be seen that rearward movement of the rod 66 will be eective tomaintain the inlet valve 2l in open position.

'I'he maintaining means are so arranged as to not be eiective until thepressing members have been brought into engagement or substantially so.Therefore, should the operator hold the outlet valve closed but releasethe inlet valve before the pressing members come into engagement, theinlet valve will close under the action ofthe spring 22 and the presswill not be closed. Further, if the inlet valve is open, but theoperator releases the outlet or exhaust valve 26 before the maintainingmeans becomes effective to resist the spring 53 of the outlet valveoperating means, the outlet valve will open and the press will not beclosed, since the uid for moving the piston I6 will escape through suchoutlet valve.

In addition to the hand levers 30 and 42, the inlet valve operatingmeans and the outlet valve operating means are provided with pushbuttons by means of which the inlet and outlet valve operating means maybe actuated by the press operator. The inlet valve and hand lever 30 hasthe lower end of a stem 11 adjustably mounted therein, the upper end ofthe stem lying within a sleeve 18 mounted on the top portion of thebracket 32. Slidably mounted in the upper end of the sleeve andoperatively engaging the stem 11 is a push button 19. The hand lever 42of the outlet valve operating means is provided with similar parts,namely, a stem l88, sleeve 8I and a push button 82. To operate the inletvalve operating means, either the hand lever 30 or the push button 19may be depressed and, likewise, to operate the outlet valve operatingmeans, the hand lever 42 or push button 82 may be depressed.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, I have shown the mechanism provided foroperating two pressing machines, A and B, when such machines areoperatively connected in tandem arrangement. This mechanism consists oftwo auxiliary inlet valves 83 and 84 disposed adjacent the respectivemain inlet valve operating handles 38 'and two auxil-` iary piston andcylinder constructions 85 and 86 disposed adjacent the respective outletor exhaust main valve operating handles 42. As shown in this ligure, theauxiliary inlet valves 83 and 84 are connected with the main supplyconduits I9 by the conduits 81 and 88 respectively. Further, theauxiliary inlet valve 83 is connected with the auxiliary cylinder andpiston construction 86 by a conduit 89 and the auxiliary inlet valve 88is connected with theauxliary cylinder and piston construction 85 bymeans of the conduit 9D. The auxiliary inlet valves 83 and 84 consistrespectively of valve stems 9| and 92, ball valves 93 and 94 and ballvalve springs 95 and 96.

In the operation of this part of the apparatus, when the main inletvalve operating lever 30 of the press B is depressed to the positionshown in Fig. 4, the valve stem 9| will be engaged and moved to push theball valve 93 from its seat against the resistance of the spring 95. Itis understood that depression of the hand lever 30 will open the maininlet valve 2l as hereinbefore described. Pushing of the ball valve 93from its seat will permit fluid pressure from the main supply pipe I9 ofthe press B to ilow through the conduit 81, auxiliary inlet valve 83,and the conduit 89 to the cylinder and piston construction 86 to movethe cylinder inwardly and move the hand lever 42 of the press A to itsrelease position by reason of contact between the piston rod and thehand lever. As will be understood, movement of the hand lever 42 to itsnormal position will permit fluid pressure between the larger surface ofthe piston I6 and the corresponding surface of the cylinder I1 to escapeto the atmosphere whereby the pressing members 6 and 1 may be separatedby action of the springs 8. Depression of the hand lever 42 of the pressB, which is "necessary in order that the outlet or exhaust valve bepermitted to-close so that the pressing membersfmay be moved intocontact with each other, moves the piston of the cylinder and pistonconstruction 85 to the position shown ln Fig. 4 by reason of contactbetween the operating lever 42 and the piston rod of such construction.The operating handle 30 of the press A is' moved to normal position byaction of the spring 22. Thus, the press B is closed while the press Ais opened automatically and by the manual operation of the hand leverson but one press. In a reverse manner, depression of the hand lever 3Dof the press A will push the valve 94 from its seat, simultaneouslyopening the main inlet valve 2| in that press and lluid pressure fromthe main supply pipe I9 will be permitted to flow through the conduit88, auxiliary inlet valve 84 and conduit to the cylinder and pistonconstruction 85 whereby the piston will be moved to force the operatinglever 42 to its normal position, which will enforce opening of theexhaust valve of the press B, escape of the iluid pressure from betweenthe larger surface of the piston I6 and cooperating surface of thecylinder I1 of that press to the atmosphere and opening of the press byaction of the springs 8. Likewise, depression oi.' the hand lever 42 ofthe press A will move the piston of the cylinder and piston construction86 to the opposing end of the cylinder of such construction, forcing theuid pressure in such cylinder back into the line 81 and moving thepistlon to a position for operation in a subsequen cyc e.

It will thus Vbe seen that I have provided a means for simultaneouslyoperating a plurality of presses connected in a tandem arrangementwherein it is necessary for the operator to actuate the hand levers ofonly one press. In Fig. 4, the piston I8 of the press B is shown in suchposition in the cylinder I1 as it will assume when the pressing members6 ,and 1 of that press are in contact and the piston I6 of the press Ais in the position in the cylinder I1 that it will assume when thepressing members 6 and 1 are separated -as shovm in Fig. 2. Ashereinbefore stated, simultaneous closing one press and opening anotheris eiected by movement of the hand levers of one press only.

'The push button controls 19 and 82 hereinbefore described are providedto permit the operation of any one of a series of operativelyinterconnected ypresses independently of any of the other presses. Thisis accomplished by reason of the fact that the inlet and exhaust valvesof each press may be operated by the push button controls without movingthe controls a sufiicient distance to operate the auxiliary inletvalves, operated thereby when the main valves are fully operated, andthereby the auxiliary cylinder and piston constructions on the adjacentpresses. In Fig. 5 of the drawings, the hand lever 30 of the inlet valveoperating means is shown in three different positions. For example, itis shown in full line' position in which the inlet Valve of the press isclosed, in dotted line position designated by the numeral 9i wherein theinlet valve will be opened but the ball valve of thel auxiliary inletvalve will remain closed since the operating lever will not contact withthe valve stem 9| when in this position, and in the dotted line positiondesignated by the numeral 98 which position it assumas when depressed toits fullest extent, to open the auxiliary inlet valves as well as themain inlet valve.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings the operating lever A2 is shown in twopositions, namely, the full line or normally inoperative position andthe dotted line position assumed when depressed to its greatest extent.With theabove construction, it will be seen that each press may beoperated independently of the others by the employment of the pushbutton controls without aiecting the position ofy any of theotherpresses operatively interconnected therewith.

In Fig. 'I of the drawings, the inlet lines or conduits 8l and 88 forthe auxiliary inlet valves 83 and 84 are shown diagrammatically as theywould be arranged for three pressing machines operatively interconnectedtogether so that operation of the controls of one pressing machine tobring about closure thereof would result in opening of va machineoperatively interconnected therewith,

rear end of the cylinder l1 for engagement by the piston I6. Each ofthese bumpers encloses a bolt 99 having its rear end adjustably mountedin an opening in the rear end wall of the cylinder, the rear end wall ofthe cylinder being provided with a cylindrical bore |00 in which thefront end portion of the bolts lie surrounded by springs IUI. y

One end of the springs engages the heads on the bolts 99 and theopposite end of the spring en-l gages the rear end wall of the cylinder.With this construction, when the piston I6 is moved rearwardly thepiston strikes against the heads of the bolts 99 and the springs IUI'effectively prevent the piston from striking the rear end wall of thecylinder with any perceptible shock. Such bumpers have a furtheradvantage in that they cause comparatively slow movement of the pressingmembers 8 and 1 into full engagement after the surface of the piston I6strikes the heads of the bolts'llll.

Referring to the drawings and the preceding description it will be seenthat I have provided a control mechanism for a series of pressingmachines operative or interconnected or disposed in tandem or grouparrangement whereby the pressing members of one of the machines can bemoved away from each other and the pressing members of another machinecan be moved into engagement with each other simultaneously by theoperation of the control lever's of one machine only. I have alsoprovided a control mechanism for a series of pressing machinesoperatively interconnected together whereby any one of the machines canbe operated independently of the other and without eiecting the relativeposition of the pressing members of the pressing machine interconnectedtherewith.

Various other advantageous features will be apparent from the precedingdescription.

What I claim is:

l. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of said machines including relativelymovable pressing members, a power operator therefor, a releasing devicefor said power operator, `and two-hand control means for the poweroperator including two manuals for actuation respectively by the twohands of the operator, the tandem connection between said machinesincluding an operative connection from one of the manuals of one machineto the releasing device of the other, whereby joint actuation of bothmanuals of one machine produces operation of that machine and soleactuation of the said one manual of one machine actuates the releasingdevice of the other machine.

2. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of said machines including relativelymovable pressing members, a power operator therefor, a releasing devicefor said power operator, and two-hand control means for the poweroperator including two manuals for actuation respectively by the twohands of the operator, one of the manuals of each machine being movableto a primary position for cooperation with its companion manual insingle machine operation and to a secondary position for tandem controlof the companion machine, the tandem connection between said machinesincluding operating means for the releasing device of each machineextending to the other machine and having a part located in the path ofmovement of said one manual to its secondary position for operationthereby.

3. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of said machines including relativelymovable pressing members, a power operator therefor, a releasing devicefor said power operator, and two-hand control means for the poweroperator including two manuals for actuation respectively by the twohands of the operator, one of the manuals of each machine being movablein one direction to a primary position for cooperation with itscompanion manual in single machine operation and in the same directionto a secondary position beyond the primary position for tandem controlof the companion ma.

chine, the tandem connection between said machines including operatingmeans for the releasing device of each machine extending to the othermachine and having a part located in the path of movement of said chemanual to lts secondary position for operation thereby.

4. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of saidmachines including relativelymovable pressing members, a power operator therefor, releasing means forsaid power operator, two-hand control means for the power peratorincluding two devices for actuation respectively by the two hands of theoperator, one of the devices of each machine being movable to a primaryposition for cooperation with its companion device in single machineoperation and to a secondary position for tandem control of thecompanion machine, and two manuals for actuating said one device of eachmachine,

' by one of which manuals it may be moved to said primary position andby the second of which it may be moved to said secondary position, thetandem connection between said machines including operating means forthe releasing means of each machine extending to the other machine andhaving a part locatedin the path of'movement of said one device to itssecondary position for operation by its said second manual,

5. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of said machines including relativelymovable pressing members, a power cylinder for effecting said movement,and means for controlling the flow of motive fluid to and from saidcylinder including an inlet and exhaust valve and separate two-handoperating means therefor, the operating means for said exhaust valvecomprising two parts normally out of operative relation, meanscontrolled by operation of the inlet valve operating means for puttingsaid parts into operative relation, the said operating means for theinlet valve of each machine including a member movable to a primaryposition for operating said inlet valve and for also putting said partsinto operative relation and movable to a secondary position for tandemcontrol of the companion machine, the tandem connection between saidmachines including operating means for the exhaust valve of each machineextending to the other machine and having a part located in the path ofmovement of said member when it is moved to its secondary position foroperation thereby.

6. Apparatus of the character described, comprising two pressingmachines connected in tandem, each of said machines including relativelymovable pressing members, a fluid motor therefor, and two-hand controlmeans for said motor including a normally closed inlet valve, a normallyopen outlet valve, and means for actuating said valves and includingspaced manuals operable by the two hands of the operator, the tandemconnection between said machines including an operative connection fromthe inlet valve actuating manual of one machine to the outlet valveactuating means of the other machine, whereby joint actuation of bothmanuals of one machine produces a closing operation of that machine andsole actuation of the inlet valve actuating manual of one machineactuates the outlet valve actuating means of the other machine.

J HN P. SINGISER.

